Food for Thought--IV

The coronavirus crisis and the crisis of Jesus sufferings and death:

Condemned to death, Jesus freed us from eternal      death.
On the cross, Jesus prayed: "Father forgive them for  they know not what they do."
Remember me when you get into your Kingdom,      the good thief prayed!
On the way to Calvary, Jesus said to the women:      "Weep not for me but for yourselves and your           children."
Never will I deny you, said Peter to Jesus and, filled  with fear, ended up denying Him three times!
Afraid, the apostles all fled--only John stood with      Mary at the foot of the cross!
Verily, "this is the Son of God," the fearful onlookers  said when an earthquake shook the ground and      darkness covered the earth after Jesus' death.  
In cooperation with Satan, Judas betrayed Jesus        and then, in despair, took his own life.
Resurrected, Jesus triumphed over fear and death.
Until the coming of the Spirit on Pentecost, the        apostles hid behind locked doors for fear of the        Jews.
Secure in their faith by the outpouring of the Spirit    on Pentecost, the apostles went forth to spread        the Good News of Jesus' resurrection and did so        with incredible boldness and courage, not afraid        anymore to express their faith in Christ Jesus.

Following the crisis of the coronavirus, I pray that we will no longer be afraid to put God first in our lives and proclaim our faith in Christ Jesus by living just and upright lives for each other's sake!

Jesus' Eagerness to Heal and Restore Life

In today's Gospel, Matthew 9: 18-26, an official, upon hearing that his daughter has just died, falls on his knees in front of Jesus and says to him:  "My daughter has just died. But come, lay your hands on her, and she will live." WOW! What a bold act on the part of this official! Absolutely no hesitation! No doubt! Unwavering faith!  "[L]ay your hands on her, [Jesus,]  and she will live!"  May you and I have such faith, pray for such faith and act upon it for the sake of the restoration of life for others--physical life, spiritual life, the life of a healthy relationship!  "Lay your hands, Lord Jesus, upon________________, and this person will live in the light, in love, in hope, in good health.

In this same Gospel passage, a "woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind [Jesus] and touched the tassel of his cloak. She said to herself, 'If only I can touch his cloak I shall be cured.'" And she was!   What courage and boldness on  her part, as well. By touching Jesus, she made him unclean according to Jewish law, as she was bleeding! So, undoubtedly, she hopes that he does not notice her.  However, Jesus knows that healing power went out from Him, so He turns around, not to rebuke her but to reassure her: "Courage, daughter! Your faith has healed you," not I healed you. "Your faith has healed you!"  The power in her faith releases the gift of healing in Jesus!  Are you and I as bold as this woman? Do you and I have the faith this woman has? If not, let us pray for this gift!

Fear of rebuke or fear of consequences does not hold this woman back!  She knows that Jesus has the power to heal people and she, unabashedly, approaches Him, though she is bleeding and would render Him unclean in the eyes of legal authority!  May you and I, when moved by the Spirit to approach Jesus with our needs, do so without hesitation!  Jesus waits, not to rebuke us, but to help us!

The Apostles' Boldness

In today’s first reading, Acts 5: 27-33, the high priest says to the Apostles, “We gave you strict orders, did we not, to stop teaching in that name. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and want to bring this man’s blood upon us.” To this the Apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus, though you had him killed… God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins. We are witnesses of these things, as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”

To this very day, as I write this, Christians are being persecuted and forced to leave their homeland by Islamic extremists and others against our faith.  Those who do not believe in Jesus are putting forth every possible means “to stop teaching in that name,” that is, to stop teaching about Jesus by words, deeds or the way we live our faith as disciples of the Lord.  People who believe in Jesus are being martyred, tortured, taunted, and humiliated every day.

Last year, while visiting a Catholic high school, some students spoke about how they are taunted by students from public high schools.  Being Christian is not popular, accepted or respected in the world of today, a world that promotes narcissistic, materialistic, relativistic, and consumeristic beliefs; in short, that encourage a person to do whatever one pleases with no regard for the laws of God, for morality, justice or truth. However, those who believe in Jesus and do what is right know that the Lord shields them, as He did the Apostles before the Sanhedrin, and  that  Jesus will answer them when they call upon Him (cf Psalm 3). We know “that the Lord works wonders for his faithful one; the Lord hears when…[we] call out to him….Many say, ‘May we see better times! Lord, show us the light of your face” (Ps4: 7).

The Apostles' Boldness in Proclaiming Jesus' Resurrection

In today’s first reading, Acts 5: 27-33, we encounter the Apostles boldly proclaiming Jesus’ resurrection and witnessing to His Messiahship, that he is the one sent by God to redeem us.  When confronted by the Sanhedrin, which arrested them and reiterated its command that they stop talking about Jesus, their response is: “We must obey God rather than… [human beings].”  And then go on to say:  “The God of our ancestors raised Jesus… [from the dead]… [and] “exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior to grant Israel [and all of us] repentance and forgiveness of sins. We are witnesses of these things, as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.” They were being obedience to  the commission Jesus gave them just before His ascension into heaven to  return to His Father: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16: 15).

Since that very time, for 2000+ years, in obedience to the Holy Spirit guiding them, people throughout the ages have been and continue proclaiming this Gospel and all of Jesus’ teaching. Because of the faithfulness of our parents, parish priests, family members and friends, our catechists, you and I have come to know about Jesus.  It is our responsibility to get to know Jesus personally, not just about Him.  We do that in the same way that we get to know our best friend/s. We spend a lot of time with Jesus, visiting Him in prayer, in the Eucharist, at Mass, reading the Scriptures and talking with Him throughout the day as issues arise. We share our hopes and our fears, our disappointments, our sadness, joy, anger and serenity, fear and security—all of our feelings—with Him.  We reveal our thoughts to Jesus and listen to His.  As we get to know and love Jesus, just as when we grow in knowledge and love of our best friend/s, spouses, companions on the journey of faith, we grow in trust and share everything about us and our lives with Jesus and Jesus with us.